Marxian economics—specifically the framework of oppressor and oppressed—applied to social categories such as gender, race, and sexuality + Critical Theory from the Frankfurt School.

These have always been present in history, both in fact and fiction. Greeks vs Persians, Amazonians, China vs Western world (think Opium Wars and Boxer revolution), etc… These issues have always been there, this isn’t something new to the modern world and there are stories that have been around just as long with these same subjects.

This sudden overcompensation of swapping the gender, sexuality or race of characters in movies and games, under the guise of “celebrating diversity,” often feels less like a meaningful or thoughtful inclusion and more like a superficial, performative gesture. This trend is widespread and politically charged, driven not by genuine artistic intent but by a desire to align with current cultural trends.

Or it matches the more modern world. Today, more people can travel and move to different countries. More and more places have more and more people of different backgrounds, race, gender, sexuality that are in the public view. To not put these people in is to not understand today’s world and the people in it. Go outside and really look around, see how many people now don’t look like you, don’t dress like you and/or don’t act like you. Also, keep in mind where the games you are comparing them to are made, and understand what the developers see in their day to day life because that is more in line with what they’d know.